The present invention relates to a driver side air bag system and more particularly one that clamps a housing, retainer member, air bag and inflator together without the use of separate fasteners.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved air bag system that is easy to manufacture and assemble. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an air bag module in which various parts of the module are interconnected.
Accordingly the invention comprises an air bag module comprising: a housing having a first opening within a first housing portion, a retaining member having a second opening and at least one pair of opposed open faced ramps, an air bag having an inflatable cushion portion and a neck portion, the neck portion is located between the housing and retaining member, a cover protects the air bag, the cover being opened by the air bag upon inflation thereof, and an inflator received within the first opening from a bottom of the first housing portion and into the second opening, the inflator including a flange; wherein with an edge of the inflator flange located proximate a respective open or receiving face of a ramp and the inflator rotated, the flange engages the ramps and is drawn toward the retaining member thereby sandwiching the housing and air bag therebetween. In one embodiment the flange is segmented and also includes a ramped portion to engage the ramps on the retaining member. In another embodiment the ramps are fabricated on an elevated portion of the retaining member. In this embodiment the inflator flange is generally flat.
It is a further object of the present invention to reduce the number of components required to manufacture an airbag module and thereby reduce cost.
Many other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings.